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Teaching is at the very core of our Holy Cross tradition of academic excellence.

Students benefit from an active and rigorous learning environment that is constantly refined toward a common goal — to inspire to think, learn and grow beyond expectations.

Our History

Established in 1991, the Center for Teaching Excellence grew from the desire to continually elevate the learning experience for students at St. Edward’s. Through the center, faculty members come together to share ideas and strategies for successful teaching. They learn practical and inventive ways to improve teaching methods and respond to the various learning needs of students.

Our Mission

The Center for Teaching Excellence promotes effective, innovative, inclusive, and evidence-based college teaching that fosters sustained learning. The Center cultivates a campus culture that values diverse approaches to learning and teaching. It supports faculty in enhancing pedagogical practices and facilitates the exchange of ideas and development of community among faculty.

Our Goals

The Center for Teaching Excellence focuses on a variety of activities designed to support our mission, which include:

Providing support for faculty at all stages of their St. Edward's career

Recognizing excellence in teaching

Director and Advisory Board

Director

Jennifer Jefferson is the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. She comes to this role after being a Visiting Assistant Professor in University Studies at St. Edward's University. Previously, she taught at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. Her educational background is in American Studies and Cultural Studies in Education.

She is committed to providing programming and support that is responsive to the St. Edward's community, and she collaborates across campus to address the complex needs of faculty at a liberal arts university. Some of her areas of interest include inclusive course development, reflective practice, and peer learning communities.

Administrative Coordinator

Melodee Lujano

Advisory Board

Alex Barron, Associate Professor of University Studies

Arcelia Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education

Stephen King, Professor of Communication

Kate Lopez. Assistant Professor of Accounting

Mity Myhr, Professor of History

Programs

The Center for Teaching Excellence offers a variety of programs to improve teaching at the university, including:

Books & Coffee (Wednesday) Reading Group
"Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire
Wednesdays: September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5
1:00 - 2:00 pm in Holy Cross Hall 105

Books & Coffee (Thursday) Reading Group
"Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire
Thursdays: September 6, October 4, November 8, and December 6
3:30 - 4:30 pm in Holy Cross Hall 105

Mission and Muffins (Part I)
Fridays, September 7 and October 5
9:00-10:00 am in Holy Cross Hall 105
Coffee and muffins will be served.

Your Teaching Identity and the Classroom
Building Classroom Community: A Series Faciliatated by the CTE and Student Affairs
Thursday, September 20
12:30-1:45 pm in Holy Cross Hall 105
Lunch will be served, so please RSVP

Voices from Classrooms on the Hilltop: Students Share Their Experiences
The Second Discussion in the Series Faciliatated by the CTE and Student Affairs
Tuesday, October 23
3:30 - 4:45 in Flock Hall 305Please RSVP

Innovation Fellows

Innovation fellowships support faculty who need time, resources and expertise to include pedagogical experimentation in their courses by providing a stipend, participation in the Innovation Institute, and a community of faculty fellows focused on pedagogical innovation.

Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction

Delayne Hudspeth, retired professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Instructional Technology at the University of Texas, was a mentor to several St. Edward's faculty members and scores of other master's and doctoral students. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Dr. Hudspeth's contributions to innovation in higher education are honored by this award.

This award recognizes St. Edward's teachers who create innovative learning environments. One award, in the amount of $500, may be given each year. The winning project is chosen by the Hudspeth Award Committee, a committee of faculty members from at least four of the St. Edward's schools.

All applications for the 2018-2019 Hudspeth Award process are due by the end of the day on January 22, 2019. Applications must besubmitted online.

Eligible Course Projects

Who can self nominate? Faculty (full-time, part-time, and staff who teach) of all disciplines and ranks are encouraged to apply. Recipients of the award must wait five years before reapplying.

What course projects are eligible? Self nominations should highlight a specific project, assignment, exercise, teaching method or a new use of technology. They may also focus on the entire course, if the course design itself is novel.

Instructors may apply for the award based on an innovation planned and implemented in any of the three years previous to the application deadline. This year, projects implemented in any of the following semesters will be eligible:

A focus on innovation: Since this award celebrates innovation, preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the greatest levels of innovation and that clearly present the value of that innovation for student learning.

How to Apply

Note: There is a 2000-word limit on your application's total length, though no single question has a word limit. Please run a word count on your completed application before submitting it through the online form.

The submission form is designed to allow you to edit your responses even after submitting them.

Selection Process

The winner(s) of the award will be decided upon by the faculty members of the Innovations in Teaching Committee. The CTE director does not influence or participate in the discussion or the voting.

The committee follows an established review practice:

Applications are masked to enable blind review. This process removes the applicant's name and any obviously identifying information from the application document.

Masked copies of the applications are circulated to all members of the committee for review. Committee members read each application, complete an evaluation rubric, and rank them, adhering to the application categories and questions.

The committee then meets and holds an in-depth discussion of the projects, leading to a final consensus decision based on both the scoring and the discussion.